Bob Dylan to Drop Two Unreleased Versions of ‘Blind Willie McTell’ on New Seven-Inch

Bob Dylan is prepping a new seven-inch vinyl single featuring two previously unreleased recordings of “Blind Willie McTell.” The single will arrive on August 20th via Third Man Records and is available to preorder now.

“Blind Willie McTell” came out of the sessions for Dylan’s 1983 album, Infidels, although it didn’t make the final album cut and a version of the song wasn’t officially released until The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 arrived in 1991. The Bootleg Series version is a simple acoustic piano-guitar version that Dylan recorded with Mark Knopfler on the last day of the Infidels sessions, but the new seven-inch will feature two full-band takes featuring Dylan, Knopfler, Mick Taylor, Sly Dunbar, and Robbie Shakespeare.

The A-side of the single (“take 1”) will only be available on the seven-inch, although the B-side (“take 5”) will also appear on the upcoming Springtime In New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 (1980-1985), out September 17th. Springtime in New York will feature studio outtakes from Dylan’s post-Christian period — 1981’s Shot of Love, 1983’s Infidels, and 1985’s Empire Burlesque — along with songs recorded during live rehearsals in 1980, and in 1984 for his European stadium tour and appearance on Late Night With David Letterman.